The Triangle

Issue date: 6/3/05 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: http://phillytheatreco.com

Many die-hard sports fans have told me that "baseball is everything," and Richard Greenberg's play Take Me Out manages to be everything; a complex team of tragedy, comedy, and thriller. It's a show that features themes across the field; from homophobia to racism, from masculinity to baseball, not to mention full frontal nudity. Although the show lacked the bright light pizzazz of the original Broadway production, which I had the honor of seeing in 2003, there were moments that did match the caliber of that production; if not in smoothness, then in heart.

The play begins when Darren Lemming, an all-star baseball player, throws a curveball at his team by outing his sexual preference on national television. Thus follows a progression of events that bring out the team's insecurity and leads to the introduction of bigot and xenophobic Shane Munger, a hillbilly pitcher who leads the team to several wins and pitches the play into a thriller direction. The play is narrated by Kippy; played smartly by David Whelan. Kippy serves as the brains of the show as well as the team's resident intellectual player and helps bring about a logical progression of events while contributing to the charm of the play.

Darren serves as the ego and takes on a God-like quality throughout the first act, until humanizing events infiltrate his all-star life. His character is vague in the beginning, perhaps an intentional directorial choice, but as the show progresses he becomes more likable and human.

However, if Darren is the ego and Kippy the brain, then "Mars" Mason, portrayed expertly by Kraig Swartz, is definitely the heart. Swartz manages to grip the audience with his stunning revelations on an evangelical level about baseball, often moving the audience from applause to tears in a matter of a few lines. Mason, Darren's money manager, is a flamboyantly latent baseball fan with some of the most profoundly evocative lines, such as "baseball is better than democracy."

The shock value of the full frontal male nudity shower scenes is quickly replaced by the intimacy and dynamic it adds between the characters and the dramatic action of the play. To cover up this show would sell it short.

Although Baseball serves metaphorically and thematically in the framework, I've yet to meet a non-baseball enthusiast who hasn't become a fan of this play. I personally have no interest in baseball, but I was ready for a second inning. Despite the two and a half hour running time, time ceased to exist altogether while my attention was drawn to the play

At times the energy of the actors and the illumination of the stadium-like lights brought the audience into the world. Suddenly we were spectators often moved to cheering with enthusiasm comparable to that of a sports fan.

However, this was not a flawless production. It seemed at times that the actors were simply running to the next base and not allowing the key dramatic moments to sink in.

Altogether however, this play swings and scores. The movement of the actors as they pitched carried a ballet-like precision. The actors successfully portrayed a diverse team of players with varying levels of education. After seeing this show, the loaded phrase "Take Me Out" holds meaning I had never considered before.

I go to bat for this play. Take Me Out has been extended by popular demand at the Philadelphia Theatre Company until June 19.

Rating: 2 Triangles.

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